Term Paper Review

On

Topic: Reverse Mentoring

Submitted to Submitted by
Ms. Marlyn koul Manjit Paul
Roll no: RR1903A23

Class: RR1903
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Through my gratitude towards my supporters yet we like to add a few hearts

full for the people who were part of this case study in numerous ways.
People who gave understanding support right project ideas were conceived.
First we want to thank Ms. Marlyn koul, Lecturer human resource
management, lovely professional university, Phagwara for assigning this
term paper & we also want to give hands full gratitude to him for his help &
guidance. We would like to thank all the faculty of lovely school of business
for having faith in us, & for their kind inspiration and helping us whenever
asked.
Last but not least, we expand us heartiest gratefulness all people who have
given us best wishes & all help that we needed for the completion of the
term paper.
CONTENTS

• objective of the study

• review of literature
• introduction
• what is reverse mentoring
• Why participate in reverse mentoring/benefits
• Emergence of the Reverse Mentoring
• Implementing a reverse mentoring program
• Mentoring techniques
• limitation in reverse mentoring
• Successful implementation of reverse mentoring
• How companies are handling reverse mentoring
• Summary
• Findings
• references
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Term paper on reverse mentoring is a very emerging topic on which through study
gives us invaluable information which we can use in grabbing future business
opportunities. it helps in understanding that now in this globalized and competitive
world, words like organization hierarchy ,inflexibility, no direct communication
does not have much space. In today’s' era everybody’s' knowledge, wisdom is
given equal importance whether it is of high rank or low rank. so, study on reverse
mentoring helps in inferring its' reasons of existence, its' benefits, proper
implementation, and the organizations who used this concept.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In terms of a literature review, "the literature" means the works you consulted in
order to understand and investigate your research problem. Here we have taken
articles to understand the concept of reverse mentoring more clearly.

Moving forward with reverse mentoring

Workforce, March, 2002 by Samuel Greengard

This article try to explain the revolution that reverse mentoring has made in
corporate sector. Hundreds of companies in an array of industries have established
formal and informal programs designed to ratchet up their competitive firepower.
Yet the technological revolution has presented the modern enterprise--and human
resources--with an intriguing irony: it's not uncommon for young, entry-level
workers to have a better understanding of technology than their managers. In
response; many organizations are shifting into reverse. They're asking tech-savvy
employees to teach the "old dogs" new tricks. "Reverse mentoring can provide
substantial benefits for an organization," says Matt Starcevich, CEO of the Center
for Coaching and Mentoring in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In a study conducted last
year, the company found that 41 percent of respondents use reverse mentoring to
spread technical expertise and 26 percent rely on younger staff members to help
executives gain a more youthful perspective.

Reverse Mentoring - A Vital Employee Engagement and a Great Employer

Branding Tool
By Muralidharan Dhanapalan

This article depicts about the uniqueness of mentoring programe its application in
organization in upgrading employee’s knowledge. Here it is given that most of us
in the human resources function will clearly be able to articulate the values of a
good institutionalized mentoring process, as a component of organization
development. With good leaders acting as mentors, the mentees - mostly team
members, repartees or a colleague - get to learn new technology, a new process in
the organization structure, a new and innovative way to handle customers or close
a sale. An organization that fosters a good mentoring culture and environment
attracts talent that prefers to learn by the day, innovate, contribute and grow in the
rungs. With mentoring having been around for a while, and widely accepted at the
personal and organizational level, the benefits are there to see for all. To make
reverse mentoring work and add real value, senior line management, the HR
function, the CEO/CXO level, and even the board must commit to integration of
'reverse mentoring' in the overall scheme of things. This is the most vital need, as
without this commitment, the organization can never get the real benefits of the
process. Implementing RM in isolation is something better not done.

Reverse Mentoring: How to Tap Into the Millennial Generation

February 2, 2010
This is a really interesting article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. the author
correctly observes, Millennial can “easily translate their social skills into the
business environment – turning social media skills into customer communication
skills.” I have seen the need for these skills (and more importantly, the need
for access to people with these skills) increase every day. Business owners are
hungry for knowledge of how to generate online leads and gain more prospects
through innovative techniques using social media. As I tell colleagues all the time
(and to whoever will listen), it’s NOT about the technology, it’s about the message.
Social media, used correctly, is just another medium to use in which you can
spread your business message.
So for discovering talent in reverse mentoring, It’s important to determine two
things: 1) what you have to offer that young people would want to know in return
and 2) be specific and realistic about what you want to know. Spread the word out
there about what you’re looking for to see who might be a good, mutually
beneficial match for your needs. Reverse Mentoring is economical, smart, and
done correctly, is guaranteed to produce results.

Getting students fully involved - Reverse mentoring

Malaysian Business, Apr 1, 2008 by Nancy Knowlton

THE COMPARISON IS OFTEN MADE today between students as digital natives

and teachers as digital immigrants. This comparison recognizes that teachers
 are often new to technology. Most in- service teachers did not learn to use
technology when they were in their teacher-training programs or their
student-teaching placements. In fact, many teachers have only recently
learned how to use email and the Internet. For most, technology is not natural
- it has to be learned from the ground up. Students, on the other hand, have
grown up in a world that is rich with technology. They have never known a
time without computers and the multiple computing devices that are in most
homes (even if these devices aren't recognized as computers). They are as
familiar with using new technology tools as they are riding a bicycle -
possibly more so. They don't need to be trained to use most technology - they
simply dive in, use it and see what happens. Tapping into the inherent
strengths and interests of these digital natives can be good for both teachers
and students as various technology products are introduced into everyday
teaching and learning.

Reverse Mentoring in HOK's Chicago Office

Erik Andersen, 44, a design principal in HOK's Chicago office, relies on Yu

Leung L, to use new technologies in presenting architectural designs to his
clients. His mentor, a recent immigrant, hasn't mastered English yet. But Mr.
Andersen says he does well to seek out Mr. Yu's advice.

"For a time, I was a specialist. But over time, the that level of comfort that we're
communicating better with clients and meeting their expectations of the design,"
Mr. Andersen says.

As in any good mentorship, Mr. Yu says he's learning just as much from Mr.
Andersen.

"I'm learning how to organize a project and the importance of presentation," he

says, smiling. "And we share a spirit."

Those who study work relationships say "reverse mentoring" is likely to become
more common as companies face increased pressure to please a youth-oriented
market.

Human Resources Management - Mentoring / Coaching se

This article looks at a mentoring program with students from Berkeley High
d the impact it is having on mentee.
 A conversation between an experienced teacher and a former student teacher about
or-mentee-relationship six years ago.

Choosing a mentor or mentee can be a powerful moment in your professional life.

he mentoring relationship work is not always easy and requires time and dedication from both
his article will define and explore the mentoring relationship, listing .key factors for such

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study into critical
in the coaching relationship. The research highlighted that critical moments are unforeseen and
zed by intense emotions and anxiety within the coaching relationship.

Once a top-down, senior-to-junior relationship, mentoring has evolved into a

ed, flexible process that builds employee retention and development. And in at least one major
finance took the lead in program development.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is defined as "the systematic study of methods that are, can
be, or have been applied within a discipline. So, I tried my best in maintaining the
term paper in well structured format. I used two types of data sources.

Secondary data: I collected secondary data from internet which helped a lot in
gaining insights into this topic.
Primary data: primary data is collected from newspapers, magazines, from
organizations that are using this concept like Lovely professional university,
phagwara.

INTRODUCTION

Reverse mentoring is very new concept. People think about mentoring like
introducing people to one another for mutual benefits from knowing each other. In
the workplace or in schools and crutches, the younger are training their older
colleagues through the electronic technical landscape as well as on life issues. So
in reverse mentoring there is nothing present like seniority, experience because
many leaders think that knowledge is not one-way street. It is benefited to all
involved to share expertise. So reverse mentoring is very interesting, invaluable
and practical approach. Then use what they have learned to strengthen their career
position

REVERSE MENTORING

Reverse mentoring is defined as,"The concept of a senior person learning new &
latest concepts from a fairly young & junior person", While traditional mentoring
focuses on passing knowledge from professional to up-and-coming stars.
For example: when young internet or mobile savvy younger generations teach
older people about the use of smart phones.
Thus under Reverse Mentoring, a younger or less experienced Executive helps a
more senior manager gain insight into areas, such as computers and changing IT
technology, changing mindsets & expectations of the younger generation, new
business concepts, thinking out of the box etc.

WHY PARTICIPATE IN REVERSE MENTORING/BENEFITS

• Improves decision making as it brings a lot of associated inputs in terms of

feeling of employees, new development around the industry, best practices
etc. and create more tightly knit relationship with juniors. So it serves as an
element of Decision Support System.
• Reverse mentoring helps senior executives learn new areas as computers,
technology, culture and other highly focused technical areas.
• Senior employees learn new skills and competencies that boost their job
performance and motivate them to work better.
• It is a part of natural evolution of learning as business in the digital age
requires more than a pulse and a briefcase.

• Subordinates or Mentors, “Having a direct line of communication with the

senior executive is invaluable” which is the most important feature of this
relationship.
• It opens a direct opportunity to gain a great deal of confidence.
• It helps in gaining insights and wisdom that could otherwise take years to
obtain.
• It is a tool for opening the channels of communication and knowledge
sharing.
• It helps junior employees face critical situations along with the seniors
which otherwise would have not faced being young & junior. There is no
substitute to experience. The young ones greatly benefit from the treasure of
experience of seniors and their calm.
• Reverse mentoring is very beneficial for organizations whether it is done
formally or informally. It attracts the many possible gains-
• Increased level of expertise and productivity by providing assistance,
guidance & informal skill for the mentees.
• Reduced turnover and Increase in Loyalty.
• 1-to-1 relationship acquired helps foster a feeling of caring and
support through testing times.
• Development of managerial talent. A young employee can provide
skills and knowledge about new technologies which normally would not
be provided to the mentee or if provided it would be very expensive and
time consuming.
• Increase the mentor’s skill of communication, problem solving and
resource management which could be beneficial to the organization in the
long run.
• Saves time and money spent on training activities.
• Helps seniors to understand the aspirations and feeling of young ones
and culture fitness in the organization. It proves beneficial in many
staffing decisions such as hiring, induction, training, placement etc.
• It also facilitates resourcing the energy and enthusiasm of the young
ones in the organization and having perfect fusion of their individual goals
with those of the organizations.

EMERGENCE OF REVERSE MENTORING

'reverse mentoring' as a concept initiated in practice, had its roots in GE, where
general electric chairman Mr. Jack Welch used it as a great tool to learn about the
internet, technology applications, which later went on to bring in humongous
changes in the way of work at GE. Those events were a beginning to a
transformation of GE as a technology driven organization, using the power of the
internet to integrate the many components of GE - productions, suppliers, sales,
marketing, and customers. So Reverse mentoring is a mentoring program targeting
older or less technologically inclined employees, managers, and executives. The
purpose of reverse mentoring is to improve their skills with new technologies by
spending time being mentored by a younger, more technologically savvy
employee. Because of the exposure to technology that younger generations get in
everyday life, this approach as a learning tool greatly lessens the technology gap
between generations.
This allows the less technologically advanced employee to:
• Understand basic software systems used in the workplace
• Understand unfamiliar terms or concepts related to technology

IMPLEMENTING REVERSE MENTORING

Setting up a successful Reverse Mentoring program requires a great deal of

effort and planning. Without a solid foundation, it is likely to encounter more
than a few problems and participants may be hurt. there are 5 Step for Reverse
Mentoring program-

1 Developing a structured program: Either, assign mentoring pairs or, let

participants find mentors/mentees they feel they will be comfortable with.
What’s important is to develop a set of goals, objectives and ground rules.
2 Make the program a priority: Participants must understand the importance
of a reverse mentoring program and block time which mentors & mentees would
spend with each other so that seniors do not miss those sessions due to their busy
schedule.
3 Screen the members: Being young doesn’t automatically make a person an
authority on what’s “COOL”. Mentors must have patience and temperament
to work with senior executives as the seniors may be reluctant to open up
with someone so junior.
4 Provide proper training: Mentor must learn what’s important and how to
show patience and the mentee has to check his or her ego at the door, otherwise
the whole reverse mentoring program may fall.
5 Solicit feedback and make necessary changes: Reverse mentoring can
require CORRECTION. By surveying participants it’s possible to identify
strengths and weaknesses and make the adjustment necessary to achieve success.

MENTORING TECHNIQUES
A study of mentoring techniques most commonly used in business. five major
techniques or "wisdom tactics" were found to be used most commonly by mentors.
These are:
1. Accompanying: This means making a commitment in a caring way.
Accompanying involves taking part in the learning process by taking the path with
the learner.
2. Sowing: Mentors are often confronted with the difficulty of preparing the
learner before he or she is ready to change. Sowing is necessary when you know
that what you say may not be understood or even acceptable to learners at first but
will make sense and have value to the mentee when the situation requires it.

MENTORING TECHNIQUES

ACCOMPANYI
NG HARVESTI
NG

SOWING CATALYZI
NG

3. Catalyzing: When change reaches a critical level of pressure, learning can

jump. Here the mentor chooses to plunge the learner right into change, provoking a
different way of thinking, a change in identity or a re-ordering of values.
4. Showing: this is making something understandable, or using your own example
to demonstrate a skill or activity. You show what you are talking about, you show
by your own behavior.
5. Harvesting: Here the mentor focuses on “picking the ripe fruit”: it is usually
learned to create awareness of what was learned by experience and to draw
conclusions. The key questions here are: "What have you learned?" "How useful is
it?"
Different techniques may be used by mentors according to the situation and the
psychological mindset of the mentee.

LIMITATIONS
The idea of reverse mentoring is good, but should be used Judiciously as many
problems may occur in this concept like:

• The challenging issue in reverse mentoring, however, is the ego factor.

Senior executives may not like taking advice from executives who are juniors to
them.
• It is not present formally, therefore, little Reverse Mentoring is found in
organizations.
• Reverse mentoring programs may wither if they lack clear and adequate
goals.
• If not handled properly it can ruin the work atmosphere and discipline in the
organization.

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF REVERSE MENTORING

Successful reverse mentoring requires some careful planning. Here are some key
factors to making sure mentoring works in reverse:-
• Hire future leaders
Young employees aren’t often asked to pass on their knowledge to older, more
experienced managers and supervisors — it’s an intimidating prospect. To gain the
most from your new employees, make sure you’re hiring people who will be
comfortable taking a leading role from time to time.

• Survey new employees after three months on the job.

Surveying new employees will glean(collect) insight about the workplace, the
culture, communication, customers and other factors. The fresh perspective is
invaluable, and the anonymous aspect of a survey encourages people to speak
freely, eliminating the “ego” factor from the equation. Older employees can benefit
from younger insights without one-on-one mentoring.

• Set up a regular “View from the Front Lines” meeting.

This can occur within departments or it can be company-wide. Allow new
employees who interact the most with customers to brief their deskbound managers
and supervisors on what’s really happening.

• Set goals.
Be clear about the goals & expectations of how such an approach will make a
difference. Send a memo detailing how the younger employees’ expertise will be
tapped to help the company.

• Training is essential.
Because of the reversed circumstances, the young mentors may also need
help to build confidence and put into practice a role that contradicts the typical
business hierarchy.
•Training the mentor to be patient and restricting his or her advice to relevant
topics only.
•Privacy and confidentiality are also important for seniors who don’t wish to be
seen as depending on the TIPS from the employees with less experience.

With those factors in place, the experienced veterans in your organization can start
learning new tricks from the talented recruits? and your whole company will
benefit from it.

HOW COMPANIES HANDLING REVERSE MENTORING

There are examples of companies who have used and handling concept of reverse
mentoring successfully
• GE: General Electric describes their senior management technology training
program in terms of reverse mentoring. The process requires senior
managers including Welch to spend time learning from Internet or
technology experts from within the company. This learning includes basic
Internet skills, discussing important trends management is not aware of, and
other similar activities.
• Proctor and Gamble: is a corporation that has been showcased for its
successful implementation of reverse mentoring in a variety of ways. For
example, a staff scientist who holds a Ph.D. in toxicology mentored a Chief
Information Officer (CIO) in the area of biotechnology to increase his
awareness and knowledge of the relationships between business and science
(Solomon, 2001; Greengard, 2002). Another Proctor and Gamble program
that has been acknowledged by the public is the Mentor Up program which
pairs mid-level female managers with upper-level male managers to improve
cross-gender communication.
• Lovely professional university: also adopting the concept of reverse
mentoring by taking suggestions of students who ranked top positions and
from teachers about changes in current running programs and take into
considerations about their innovative ideas of upgrading student’s
knowledge.
• Nokia: As the telecom giant transforms itself from a devices company to
one that provides complete mobile solutions, its top management learns vital
lessons through "reverse mentoring". Mr. Jasmeet Gandhi who is employee
of Nokia company is acting as mentor and give very valuable ideas to
company. He is part of a brand of "gurus", junior employees all, that
decodes cutting edge technology, social organization, competition and
 roadmap. Each guru is a domain expert.
• Wharton School of Business requires older MBA candidates with long
resumes to partner with younger, full-time students. The exchange of
information goes both ways.

SUMMARY

So both, the mentor and the mentee must have certain qualities and attributes.
Both the parties have their share of responsibilities which when fulfilled can make
a reverse mentoring program successful. Top layer employees must realize that
knowledge isn't a one-way street. It's in everyone's best interest to share expertise.
It’s the young people, the counter workers, and the servers, the desk clerks that
really see and hear how the company, its policies, procedures and products, are
perceived by the public. The fact that a vice president worked on the front lines 20
years ago doesn’t make him or her expert in what’s happening now.

FINDINGS

So reverse mentoring improves decision making, upgrading knowledge of senior

executives, learn new skills and competencies, revolution in learning, remove
deadlock in communication, confidence, insights and wisdom. Many organizations
are adopting it to gain more productivity and turnover by making its employees
productive through reverse mentoring.
It also has some weaknesses like people may have ego factor, informal procedure,
lack adequate goals, if not handled properly may ruin environment. Yet the
technological revolution has presented the modern enterprise--and human
resources--with an intriguing irony: it's not uncommon for young, entry-level
workers to have a better understanding of technology than their managers.
Often, a new employee is able to see things clearly without the filter of years of
experience, which can sometimes cloud the truth.

REFERENCES

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